Replaceable lipstick container



Feb. 25, 1969 o. A. SEAVER 3,429,643

REPLAGEABLE LIPSTICK CONTAINER Filed Oct. 22. 1965 All llllllllllllllllfl ll r 111m 111/ I" United States Patent 3,429,643 REPLACEABLE LIPSTICK CONTAINER Donald A. Seaver, West Cheshire, Conn., assignor t0 Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a

corporation of Connecticut Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 500,662

US. Cl. 401-75 Int. Cl. A45d 40/04; B43k 21/08 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is an improved combination of a disposable cartridge and decorative holder which is especially useful as a container for lipstick or similar material.

In view of the relatively higher cost of the decorative metal casing in containers of this type, several attempts have been made to provide arrangements whereby the pomade material can be replaced without throwing away the metal parts. Most such attempts have involved the removal of the old pomade stick, its carrier cup and possibly some of the inner parts of the operating mechanism.

In view of the difliculties of removing these parts from the other elements of the operating mechanism, it has been proposed to dispose of the complete shell and selfcontained mechanism, and provide a suitable decorative holder which can be retained. In this manner, the container sleeve can be made of a cheap lithographed material. A sample of such a holder combination is found in the patent to Harris, 2,872,034, and the present invention is an improvement upon that patent.

One of the objects is to provide a holder which will completely cover the cheaper cartridge unit and which consists of parts which can be readily pushed into place or removed from the cartridge by an inexperienced user.

Another object is to provide an improved three-piece holder for a disposable cartridge consisting of a base section and an interfitting sleeve in gripping relation 'with the cartridge shell, along with a cap which fits over the base section.

Other objects and advantagm hereinafter will more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown for purpose of illustration, one embodiment which the invention may assume in practice. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the assembled holder;

FIG. 2 is a vertical central section through the holder on a larger scale, with a portion of the cartridge also in section;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the cartridge and the associated holder parts; and

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view.

The cartridge unit is of the type having a cylindrical outer shell 6 and an operating head 7 at its lower end for projecting or retracting a stick of pomade material 8 through the upper open end of the shell 6.

The disposable cartridge includes any type of suitable self-contained mechanism for moving the pomade material. It may be of the type having a spiral shell, commonly used in swivel type lipstick containers, or it may be of the type involving a simple screw, indicated herein by the numeral 9.

3,429,643 Patented Feb. 25, 1969 The screw 9 is attached to the operating head 7 and operates in a threaded sleeve of the carrier cup 10 which slides in the outer shell 6 but is prevented from rotation by a suitable rib 11 fitting in a groove 12 in the carrier cup 10. Any suitable swivel joint can be provided between the shell 6 and the operating head 7, such as the circular rib and groove construction indicated at 13.

The decorative holder for such a disposable cartridge includes three pieces. First, there is the thimble-like base section 14 having inwardly formed ribs 15 adapted to be pushed over and grip the operating head 7. This base section extends for a considerable distance over the cartridge shell 6, and its upper portion 16 is of slightly larger internal diameter than the outsideiof the shell 6. Just below this section 16 is a band 17 providing an upwardly facing shoulder 18 for locating the cap 19 which is adapted to have a frictional fit over the portion 16 of the base section.

In order to completely conceal the cartridge, there is provided in addition to the base section when the cap is removed, an open ended sleeve 20, the lower portion of which has a free sliding fit inside the upper section 16 of the base. This provides lateral support for the upper part 16 of the base section while permitting relative turning movement. The upper portion 21 of the sleeve 20 is reduced in diameter to provide an inward downwardly facing shoulder 22 which comes to rest against the upwardly facing shoulder 23 providedby the rib 24 on the cartridge shell.

The upper end of shell 6 may also have one or more nibs or ribs 25 for frictional engagement with the inner surface of the sleeve 21. It will be seen that the arrangement is such that the base section 14 and the sleeve 20 can be readily pushed into place for assembly with a new cartridge, and the rib 24 definitely locates the sleeve 20 so that its upper edge is flush with the upper end of the cartridge shell 6.

The upper end of the cap 19 may have ribs or grooves 26 similar to those at the bottom end of the base section, or any other type of ornamentation desired. The cap contacts only the upper section 16 of the sleeve 14 where it may be frictionally engaged by one or more projections 27. With this arrangement, any attempt to turn the base while the cap 19 is in place, cannot project the pomade stick 8.

It is believed that the manner of operation will be obvious from the above description. Since the base section of the holder grips the operating head 7, it is only necessary to grasp the sleeve 20 and turn the base section to project or retract the material in the cartridge.

I claim:

1. In combination with a disposable cartridge having an outer shell, an operating head at the lower end of the shell and self-contained mechanism within said shell for projecting or retracting a body of lipstick or the like through the open upper end of said shell upon relative rotation of said operating head and shell; 2. three-piece holder for said cartridge consisting of:

(a) a thimble-like base section adapted to be pushed over the bottom of said cartridge and having means for gripping said operating head, the upper portion of said base section being of slightly larger diameter than said cartridge shell;

(b) an open-ended sleeve adapted to be pushed over the top of said cartridge with at least a portion of said sleeve in tight gripping engagement with said cartridge outer shell, the bottom portion of said sleeve extending into said base section whereby said cartridge shell is completely covered; and

(c) a cover cap having its bottom end dimensioned to take over the upper end of said base section;

wherein said cartridge shell is provided near its upper end with an upwardly facing stop shoulder and (wherein the References Cited upper portion of said sleeve is of reduced diameter to UNITED STATES PATENTS provide a downwardly facing shoulder which engages said stop shoulder when said sleeve is pushed home where the 2,780,115 1 2/1957 Gnsel 20656 top edge of the sleeve is substantially flush with the top 5 2,859,867 11/1958 Show? 206 56 f the cartridge m 3,335,854 8/1967 Landen 401-68 X 2. The combination of claim 1, wherein that section FQREIGN PATENTS of the cartridge shell above said stop shoulder has one or more projections for frictional engagement with said 1052053 9/1953 France reduced diameter section of said sleeve. 10 MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner. 

